Dispenser arrangement for interfolded napkins

ABSTRACT

A dispenser arrangement for interfolded napkins, the dispenser including a container having a bottom wall and side walls surrounding the bottom wall and extending from the bottom wall in a direction generally perpendicular thereto and defining a dispensing opening opposite the bottom wall. The bottom wall includes a supporting surface for supporting a rectangular stack of interfolded napkins. At least one weight is placed in the container, the weight having a projected surface on the bottom wall which is less than or equal to one third of the stack supporting surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a §371 National Stage Application of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/SE2009/050557 filed May 15, 2009,which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure pertains to a dispenser arrangement for interfoldednapkins, the dispenser including a container having a bottom wall andside walls surrounding the bottom wall and extending from the bottomsurface in a direction generally perpendicular to the bottom wall anddefining a dispensing opening opposite the bottom wall, the bottom wallincluding a supporting surface for supporting a rectangular stack ofinterfolded napkins.

BACKGROUND

Napkins in the form of sheets of material intended for wiping and forhygienic purposes are common household items that may be provided in theform of stacks of napkins from which individual napkins can be readilyremoved when needed. The dispenser for the napkins should be relativelyinexpensive, easy to handle, should protect the napkins up to use andshould be easy to move to a location where the napkins are needed, suchas to a table, a kitchen counter, etc.

A common type of dispenser for this kind of napkins is an open cardboardbox in which the napkins are arranged in a stack standing on an edge ofthe napkins with part of the napkins protruding through the opening inthe box to provide grippability. This is a simple and inexpensive way ofdispensing the napkins. However, the protruding parts of the napkinstend to fold over the edge of the box and become ruffled and deformed.Moreover, as soon as a few napkins have been removed from the box, theremaining stack does not fill the width of the container with the resultthat the stack will buckle in an accordion-like way and sink down intothe box adding to the deformation of the not yet dispensed napkins.

A further commonly used option is to arrange the napkins in aninterfolded stack which is placed standing on a non-folded surface in acontainer having a dispensing opening at the top of the container. Thenapkins are then successively removed from the top of the stack throughthe dispensing opening.

Interfolded napkins are sheets of materials arranged in a stack ofsuperposed sheets which are each folded at least once. The sheets areinterlinked in such a way that the separate folded sheets of materialform a chain of sheets where each sheet has a leading panel and atrailing panel, the trailing panel being at least partly overlapped withthe leading panel of the subsequent sheet in the stack. In this manner,the individual sheets are held loosely together by means of frictionalforces arising between the overlapping parts. The sheets may bedispensed from a dispenser by pulling at the leading panel of the firstsheet in the stack. In this manner, the first material sheet isextracted at the same time as a predetermined part of the leading panelof a subsequent material sheet is fed into a dispensing position in thedispenser.

The dispenser usually has a lid or cover with a dispensing opening thatrestricts the width of the dispensed napkin in order to keep the leadingpanel of the next napkin to be dispensed from falling back into thedispenser.

A problem with this solution is that when a first napkin is extracted,the napkin restriction caused by the dispensing opening will cause thenapkin to wrinkle in an irreversible manner. There is also a risk thatthe leading part of the next paper towel in the stack becomes tangled orcrumpled in the dispensing opening. It may also happen that when a firstnapkin is extracted and a predetermined part of the next napkin issupposed to be fed out the interlinking function is either too weak, sothat the subsequent towel falls back into the container or theinterlinking function is too strong, so that more than one napkin iswithdrawn.

For napkins that are to be used, for example, at a dinner it is ofimportance that they look nice when they are taken out of the dispenser.It is also important that they are not ripped or otherwise damaged sothat they cannot be used for the intended purpose.

SUMMARY

It is desired to solve the above problems by providing an improveddispenser arrangement for dispensing interfolded napkins.

In accordance with aspects of the invention, there is offered adispenser for interfolded napkins. The dispenser includes a containerhaving a bottom wall and side walls surrounding the bottom wall andextending from the bottom wall in a direction generally perpendicular tothe bottom wall and defining a dispensing opening opposite the bottomwall. The bottom wall includes a supporting surface for supporting arectangular stack of interfolded napkins. The dispenser is primarilydistinguished in that at least one weight is placed in the container,the weight having a projected surface on the bottom wall which is lessthan or equal to one third of the stack supporting surface.

When the dispenser is being used, a stack of interfolded napkins isplaced on the supporting surface on the bottom wall. The stack ofinterfolded napkins has a rectangular shape with rectangular or squarebottom surface formed by a trailing panel of the last napkin in thestack. The stack may have any suitable dimensions such as any suitableheight, width and length. The width and length dimensions are defined bythe dimensions of the bottom surface of the stack and the height ismeasured perpendicular to the bottom surface and is determined by thenumber of napkins in the stack as well as the number of plies and panelsin each napkin. The individual napkins may include one or more plies orlayers and may have been folded into two or more panels.

In accordance with aspects of the invention, fall-back of the grippingportion of an uppermost napkin in a stack of interfolded napkins isavoided without the risk of the tearing or wrinkling of the napkin beingpulled out or of the next napkin. The dispenser arrangement will alsoascertain that only one napkin is dispensed at a time. The dispenser caneasily be operated with only one hand and has a simple and reliableconstruction.

The bottom wall of the container may have any suitable circumferentialshape such as a circular shape, an irregular shape, a rectangular shapewith rounded corners, etc. as long as the bottom wall provides asufficiently large planar rectangular supporting surface for a stack ofinterfolded napkins. The side walls of the container may be completelyperpendicular to the plane of the bottom wall or may be slightlyinclined outwardly or in over the bottom wall. The side walls delimitthe container space and the size of the dispensing opening and arearranged to contain and support the stack of interfolded napkins withoutdeforming the napkins.

The container material may be any material suitable for the purpose suchas paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, ceramic, yarn, etc. The containermay be made by folding a sheet of material, molding, blow-molding,extrusion, knitting, weaving, etc. The physical form of the containermay be a more or less rigid box, a bag or a basket. If the container isin the form of a bag with a planar bottom wall, the side walls need tohave sufficient rigidity to stay generally upright and protect andsupport a stack inside the bag when the bag is stood on a surface suchas a table or a worktop. A container made of a somewhat flexiblematerial may have side walls that can be folded down to the outside ofthe container so that the container height can be adapted to the heightof a stack of napkins placed in the container. A foldable containeroffers the possibility of successively lowering the sidewalls of thecontainer as the napkins are removed from the container and the heightof the container diminishes.

The dispenser arrangement has a simple construction and may be made frominexpensive and readily available materials. Moreover, the dispenserarrangement has a surprisingly reliable function and will not damage thedispensed napkins.

The at least one weight that is placed in the container can have an atleast partially curved surface. By making the weight at least partlycurved, movement of the weight in the container may take place by meansof the weight rolling on the curved surface. This means that thefrictional forces between the weight and the napkins to be dispensed areminimised and that smooth dispensing is afforded. By avoiding sharpedges and corners, the risk of damaging the napkins in the process ofdispensing is also largely eliminated. For example, the weight may be acube with rounded corners, it may have an egg-shape or it may have aperfect spherical shape.

The weight or weights may theoretically be very small and still fulfilltheir function in the dispenser. However, for practical reasons theweights can preferably have a sufficient size to allow them to be easilytaken out of the dispenser and put back again without too muchmanipulation when recharging the dispenser with a new stack of napkins.For child-safety reasons it may also be a concern to make the weightsbig enough so that they cannot be swallowed. Consequently, it may besuitable that the weights have an effective cross-section as hereindefined of at least 30 millimeters.

The effective cross-section for the weight or weights is determined asthe inner diameter of the smallest tube through which the weight can bepassed. Hence, for an irregularly shaped weight, the weight has to beoriented so that the smallest dimension of the weight can be determined.

In certain embodiments, the at least one weight may have an effectivecross-section of from 30 millimeters to 100 millimeters and, in morecertain embodiments, an effective cross-section of from 40 millimetersto 70 millimeters.

The at least one weight may have a weight of from 20 to 600 grams,preferably of from 50 to 400 grams and most preferably of from 70 to 200grams. When only one weight is used it will preferably have a weight offrom 100-500 grams. When more than one weight is being used the totalweight is preferably not more than 1000 grams.

The dispenser arrangement may include more than one weight that isplaced in the container.

The weights may be of different size, but preferably all weights havethe same effective cross-section. If the weights are small such as below10 mm in cross-section, so that passing them through a tube to determinethe effective cross-section becomes impractical, the effectivecross-section may alternatively be determined by passing them through asieve. The mesh-size of the sieve then determines the effectivecross-section of the weights.

When using several weights, all weights may have the same shape, withidentically shaped balls being preferred. However, differently shapedweights are also contemplated, such as naturally shaped stones, fruit,etc.

The weights may be of the same weight or may have different weights. Thedifference in weight may be achieved by using differently sized weightsand/or by using weights of materials having different densities.

When more than one weight is placed in the dispenser, the totalprojected surface of the weights on the stack supporting surface of thebottom wall may be at least 20% of the stack supporting surface,preferably at least 40% of the stack supporting surface, more preferablyat least 60% of the stack supporting surface and most preferably atleast 80% of the stack supporting surface. Although it is sufficient touse a single weight in order for the dispenser to function, thedispenser will preferably contain two or more weights. Multiple weightsmay be arranged in two or more layers on top of each other. However, ifmore than approximately 10 weights are used, it may be desirable to useweights of a sufficiently small size to allow the weights to be pouredin and out of the container. Hence, for such embodiments, the weightsmay have an effective cross-section of from 1-30 millimeters, such asfrom 5-15 millimeters. Suitable multiple weights are peas, pebbles,small glass balls, metal balls, etc.

When using more than one weight, the weights may be arranged in at leasttwo rows of weights each row including at least one weight.

The weights may be made from any suitable material or combination ofmaterials such as wood, glass, ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers,stone and metal. Accordingly, the weights may be of glass or plastic andmay have a core or an outer layer of a different material. Aparticularly aesthetically pleasing design is a ball of clear plastic orglass having a decorative or informative object enclosed in the plasticor glass and visible through the plastic or glass. The weights may alsobe in the form of a shell enclosing an inner object in order to producea sound effect or to provide a visual effect through the shell. In thelatter case, the shell has to be at least partly see-through by means ofbeing at least partly made of a transparent material or by havingopenings therein.

The surface of the weights may include a sound reducing material inorder to avoid rattling of the weights against each other and againstthe walls of the container. By way of example, the sound reducingmaterial may be a coating of natural or synthetic rubber, a frosting, asurface on the weights made of wood, cork, fibres or similar.

In a corresponding manner, the dispenser side walls may include a soundreducing material.

The at least one weight may be a man-made object or may be chosen amongsuitable natural items preferably adding a decorative function such asfruit, vegetables, seeds, etc. By way of example it is possible to usesuitably sized apples, oranges, pears, lemons, limes, potatoes,chestnuts, eggs, peas, stones, etc. When using natural objects asweights in the dispenser, it should be ascertained that the weights areclean and if using perishable goods, they should be replaced before theygo bad.

During use, the dispenser contains a stack of interfolded napkins thathas been placed on the planar supporting surface of the bottom wall ofthe dispenser with a bottom napkin resting on the bottom surface and atop napkin exposed at the dispensing opening. The interfolded napkinsare folded at least once to create a leading panel and a trailing panel,the leading panel being placed towards the top of the stack of napkinsand the trailing panel being placed towards the bottom of the stack.Except for in the first and the last napkin in the stack, each trailingpanel of each napkin is connected by interfolding to the leading panelof the next napkin in the stack. The at least one weight in thedispenser is placed on the top napkin in the stack with at least aportion of the leading panel of the top napkin being lifted to aposition above the lower panel of the napkin and forming a gripping partof the top napkin. The gripping part of the top napkin is held in theraised position by leaning against a container side wall or against oneor more weight that is placed in the container.

The napkins may be any kind of household napkins, wipes, paper towels,etc. The material may be a fibrous material of any suitable kind such ascellulose based paper materials, with or without admixture of man-madefibres, binders and fillers. The napkins may include only man-madefibres. However, it is usually desired that a napkin has some degree ofabsorbency or that it at least is wettable. If the fibrous materialcontains a large proportion of fibres of a hydrophobic characterimplying that the fibres are non-wettable, it may be suitable to treatthe material with a wetting agent. Wetting agents and other additivesare well known to the person skilled in the art and will not be furtherdiscussed herein. The napkins may have any suitable shape and/or sizeand may be embossed, perforated, printed and dyed if desired. Thenapkins may be single-ply sheets of material or may include two or moreplies of the same or different materials. In the stack the napkins arefolded at least once in order to obtain an interfolded arrangement withinterconnected panels. However, the napkins may be additionally foldedin order to reduce their planar size to a practical dimension.Accordingly, any type of interfolding of the napkins may be used, asknown in the art.

When more than one weight is used in the dispenser, the leading panel ofthe top napkin may be positioned between at least two weights which areplaced in the container with at least one weight on a lower panel of thetop napkin and at least one weight on the leading panel of the topnapkin with an edge portion of the leading panel protruding into thedispensing opening between the at least two weights.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will in the following be described indetail, with reference to the figures that are shown on the appendeddrawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a first embodiment ofthe invention with one weight placed therein,

FIG. 2 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a second embodiment ofthe invention with two weights placed therein,

FIG. 3 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a third embodiment ofthe invention with three weights placed therein,

FIG. 4 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a fourth embodiment ofthe invention with four weights placed therein,

FIG. 5 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a fifth embodiment ofthe invention with a soft-walled container,

FIG. 6 shows a dispenser arrangement according to a sixth embodiment ofthe invention with multiple small weights,

FIG. 7 shows a container bottom wall,

FIG. 8 shows a second container bottom wall,

FIG. 9 shows a third container bottom wall,

FIG. 10 shows a weight and a device for measuring effectivecross-section,

FIG. 11 illustrates the projected surface of a weight onto a stacksupporting surface; and

FIG. 12 illustrates the projected surface of an irregularly shapedweight onto a stack supporting surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The dispenser arrangements 1 shown in FIGS. 1-4 include a container 2, astack 3 of interfolded napkins and one or more weights 4.

The container 2 as shown in FIGS. 1-4 is a transparent box of glass orplastic having a rectangular bottom wall 5 on which the stack ofinterfolded napkins 3 rests and four rectangular side walls 6 arrangedperpendicularly from the edges of the bottom wall 5 towards a dispensingopening 7 opposite the bottom wall 5. The bottom wall 5, has asupporting surface 8 on which the stack 3 of interfolded napkins isplaced. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1-4, the supporting surface 8generally coincides with the bottom wall 5 of the container. However,this is not a necessary feature as other shapes of the bottom wall maybe used as long as the bottom wall has sufficient size to fullyaccommodate a planar supporting surface for a stack of interfoldednapkins.

The material of a container needs not be of glass or plastic but may bemade of any suitable transparent or non-transparent material such aspaper, cardboard, wood, metal, etc. The container may be made by foldingof a sheet of material, by moulding, blow-moulding, extrusion, knitting,weaving, plaiting or may be formed from a nonwoven fibrous material. Thecontainer may have solid side walls, as the container 2 shown in FIGS.1-4 or may have side walls with openings therein such as a lace-workmaterial or a net. The container material may be a laminate includingtwo or more layers of materials and may be made from parts of differentmaterials. The container may be of any colour and may be provided withdecorative features such as embossed or engraved structures, surfacefinishes and patterns and may have printed texts or designs thereon.

As used herein, interfolded napkins are sheets of material arranged in astack of superposed sheets. The interfolded napkins are folded at leastonce in a first direction which is the interfolding direction to provideeach napkin at least with a leading panel and a trailing panel. Whenmore complicated folding arrangements are used, the leading and trailingpanels may be separated by one or more intermediate panels. In a simplefolding arrangement, the leading panel and the trailing panel will becontiguous with the trailing panel following directly after the leadingpanel. In the stack, the napkins are arranged as a linked chain whereeach trailing panel of each napkin is connected by interfolding to theleading panel of the next napkin in the stack. The only exceptions fromthis arrangement are found at the first and last napkin in the chain,the first napkin being positioned at the top of the stack and having afree leading panel and the last napkin being at the bottom of the stackand being placed in the container with the trailing panel resting on thesupporting surface of the bottom wall. The napkins are interlinked bymeans of each trailing panel being at least partly overlapped with theleading panel of the subsequent napkin in the stack. In this manner, theindividual sheets are held loosely together by means of frictionalforces arising between the overlapping parts. The napkins may be singleply or multi ply napkins and may be folded one or more time in a seconddirection perpendicular to the first, interfolding direction.

The weights used in the dispenser arrangement may be spherical weightsas shown in FIGS. 1-5. Weights having a non-spherical but rounded shapesuch as egg-shaped weights, or the like may also be used. The weightsmay be only partially rounded or may have only planar surfaces althoughnon-rounded weights are less preferred as they will have to slide on thenapkin surface in order to shift position in the container. Moreover,sharp edges and corners should be avoided as they may catch in thedispensed material and cause the material to wrinkle and tear.

The dispenser arrangement shown in FIG. 1 includes only one weight 4that is shown to be placed on top of the stack 3 of interfolded napkins.FIG. 1 shows how the dispenser arrangement will appear after a napkinhas been pulled away from the stack 3 of interfolded napkins and out ofthe container 2. The weight is seen to be resting on top of the leadingpanel 9 of the uppermost napkin in the stack with a free end of theleading panel 9 being lifted to a dispensing position above a lowerpanel 10 of the uppermost napkin and leaning against one of thecontainer 2 sidewalls 6. In this manner the leading panel 9 isaccessible for gripping and removing of the uppermost napkin in thestack 3.

The napkins 11 are dispensed from the dispenser 2 by pulling at theleading panel 9 of the first napkin in the stack 3. In this manner, thefirst napkin is extracted at the same time as a predetermined part ofthe leading panel 9 of the subsequent napkin is fed into a dispensingposition in the dispenser. The weight 4 counteracts the pulling forceand keeps the remaining napkins in the container 2. Pulling at the freenapkin end will bring the leading end of the next napkin into a grippingposition by partly unfolding the fold 12 between the leading panel 9 andthe next panel 13, which may be the trailing panel or an interveningpanel between the leading panel 9 and the trailing panel depending onthe fold configuration of the napkins 11. In this manner the unfoldedpart of the napkin will be longer than the length l₁ of thecorresponding side wall 6, causing the leading panel 9 to lean againstthe container 2 side walls 6.

As previously described, the napkins may be interfolded in numerousdifferent ways. If the napkins are interfolded in simple interlockingV-folds, extraction of the top napkin 11 in the FIG. 1 arrangement willcause the position of the weight 4 to shift from being on top of theleading panel 9 to be below the leading panel 9. In this secondconfiguration the weight 4 will serve to keep the free edge portion ofthe leading panel 9 in a lifted position, ready for gripping.

In the dispensing arrangement shown in FIG. 2, two weights 4 are used.The weights 4 are placed on either side of the free end portion of theleading panel 9 of the uppermost napkin in the stack 3. As the napkins11 are successively removed from the container 2 by pulling them upbetween the weights 4, the weights 4 will hold the leading panel 9 thatis currently being exposed in a raised gripping position as shown inFIG. 2. This arrangement offers the advantage of avoiding the risk thatthe leading panel 9 is by mistake pushed back in alignment with theupper surface of the stack 3. The grippable portion of the top napkin isheld securely in the raised position until it is removed and asubsequent napkin takes it place. However, although preferred, it is notnecessary to place one weight 4 on each side of the exposed leadingpanel. Instead both weights 4 may be placed on the same side of the freeedge portion on the leading panel 9 of the uppermost napkin. Theresulting dispensing arrangement will work in a manner similar to theone-weight arrangement shown in FIG. 1.

The dispensing arrangements shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 have three and fourweights 4, respectively. With increasing number of weights 4, a largerproportion of the supporting surface 8 of the bottom wall 5 will becovered by the weights 4. The larger proportion of the supportingsurface 8 that is covered by weights 4, the more securely will thenapkins be held back in the container. Then number of weights 4 willalso influence the reliability of the dispensing operation, inparticular will a large number of weights ensure that the raised leadingpanel will be held in the raised position. The number of weights may besufficient to completely cover the surface of the stack. It is alsopossible to arrange weights in more than one layer on top of the stack.

The weights 4, may be arranged in two or more rows with the dispensingof the napkins taking place between two neighbouring rows. In thedispenser shown in FIGS. 1-4, six weights 4 of the shown size may beplaced in two rows so that the leading panel 9 of the uppermost napkincan be pulled out between the rows. Such arrangement offers a verysmooth and reliable operation of the dispenser and ensures that thenapkins are held in a planar, non-wrinkled configuration throughout thedispensing operation.

The dispenser arrangement 1 shown in FIG. 5 differs from that in FIGS.1-4 in that the container 2 is made of a flexible or bendable materialsuch as a wicker basket, a bag of textile, paper or plastic material,etc. As is shown in FIG. 5, edge portions 15 of the side walls 6 thatare located at the dispensing opening 7 are folded down on the outsideof the container 2. As the number of napkins 11 in the stack 3diminishes, the height of the container 2 can be adjusted in acorresponding manner by pulling down the edge portions 15 of the sidewalls 6 even further in the direction shown at the arrow A in FIG. 5.

In the FIG. 5 dispenser, four weights 4 are placed in the container 2 ontop of the stack 3 of interfolded napkins 11. The weights 4 are shown asspherical weights being arranged in two rows 16′ and 16″ with twoweights in each row 16′, 16″. A free edge portion of the leading panel 9of the uppermost napkin 11 in the stack 3 of interfolded napkinsprotrudes between the two rows 16′ 16″ of weights 4. Dispensing of thenapkins 11 takes place by pulling the protruding napkin in the directionof the arrow B whereby the uppermost napkin is pulled out of thecontainer 2 and the next interfolded napkin in the stack 3 follows upand is brought into the gripping position.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dispenser arrangement 1 in which a multitude ofsmall weights 4 is placed on top of the stack 3. The leading panel 9 ofthe uppermost interfolded napkin 11 is shown protruding between rows 16of small weights 4. The weights are shown to be arranged in a singlelayer but arrangements with weights 4 placed in two or more layers arealso possible. The shape and size and other properties of the container2 may be different from that shown in FIG. 6, as previously disclosed.

One advantage in covering a major part or the entire uppermost surfaceof the stack with weights 4 is that the weights 4 protect the surface ofthe uppermost interfolded napkin 11 from contamination. If the dispenserarrangement is used outdoors, the weights 4 will prohibit the napkins 11from blowing out of the container 2.

It is to be understood that features of the shown examples may be freelycombined with each other within the scope of the appended claims. Thenumber of weights, as well as the size, shape and composition of thecomponents may be varied as set out herein.

With reference to FIGS. 7-9, different shapes of container bottom walls5 are shown. As can be seen, the bottom walls 5 need not have the samesize or shape as the supporting surface 8. In FIG. 7, the bottom wall isshown to be circular while the supporting surface 8 is a squareinscribed within the periphery of the bottom wall 5. In FIG. 8, a bottomwall 5 having bi-lobal shape will accommodate a rectangular stack ofinterfolded napkins on the supporting surface 8 and in FIG. 9, a bottomwall 8 with an irregular periphery will accommodate a square stack ofinterfolded napkins on the square supporting surface 8. The bottom wallin FIG. 9 may, for instance, be the bottom of a wicker basket.

When the bottom wall 5 of the container has larger size than thesupporting surface 8, the size of the weight 4 or weights that is chosenshould preferably be such that it exceeds the size of the largest gapthat is formed between the side walls 6 of the container 2 and the sidesof the stack 3 of interfolded napkins 11. By choosing sufficiently largeweights 4, it is avoided that the weights 4 fall down between thecontainer side walls 6 and the stack.

FIG. 10 shows a weight 4 for a dispenser arrangement. The weight 4 inFIG. 10 is irregularly shaped and has a somewhat elongate appearance.The size of the weight is determined as the inner diameter 0 of thesmallest measuring tube 18 that will allow the weight 4 to passtherethrough. When measuring irregularly shaped weights, such as theweight 4 shown in FIG. 10, the weight 4 has to be rotated so that thesmallest cross-sectional dimension can be determined. This is theeffective or critical cross-section of the weight 4. The cross-sectionalsize of a weight as used herein refers to the effective or criticalcross-section.

The weights used in the dispenser arrangements may have an effectivecross-section of from 30 millimeters to 100 millimeters and preferablyan effective cross-section of from 40 millimeters to 70 millimeters. Itmay be a concern to use weights of a dimension that would not cause aproblem if a small child tries to swallow them. A size of 30 millimetersor above is generally considered to be safe, as it is too large toswallow. Smaller weights of below 5 mm can generally be swallowedwithout problem.

The weights may have a weight of from 20 to 600 grams, preferably offrom 50 to 400 grams and most preferably of from 100 to 200 grams. Whenonly one weight is used it will preferably have a weight of from 100-500grams. When more than one weight is used the combined weight ispreferably not more than 1000 grams.

If more than one weight is used, the weights may be of different size,but preferably all weights have the same or similar effectivecross-section. If the weights are very small, so that passing themthrough a measuring tube to determine the effective cross-sectionbecomes impractical, the effective cross-section may alternatively bedetermined by passing them through a sieve. The mesh-size of the sievethen determines the cross-section of the weights.

The size of the weights 4 can also be expressed as a size in relation tothe portion of the supporting surface 8 or uppermost surface of thestack 3 of interfolded napkins 11 onto which the weight 4 projected whenseen at an angle of 90° towards the supporting surface 8. FIG. 11illustrates the projected area W of a spherical weight 4 and FIG. 12illustrates the projected area W of an irregularly shaped weight 4. Inaccordance with embodiments of the invention, the projected area of asingle weight 4 is one third of the supporting surface 8 or less.

The total projected surface of the one or more weights on the stacksupporting surface of the bottom may be at least 20% of the stacksupporting surface, preferably at least 40% of the stack supportingsurface, more preferably at least 60% of the stack supporting surfaceand most preferably at least 80% of the stack supporting surface.Although it is sufficient to use a single weight in order for thedispenser to function, it may be desired to use multiple weights andeven weights placed in two or more layers placed on top of each other.If more than approximately 10 weights are used, it may be desirable touse weights of a size that can be poured in and out of the containerinstead of the weight being handled one at a time. For such embodiments,the weights may have an effective cross-section of from 1-30millimeters, such as from 5-15 millimeters. Suitable multiple weightsare peas, pebbles, small glass balls, metal balls, etc. An example of anembodiment using multiple small weights 4 is shown in FIG. 6.

The weights may be made from any suitable material or combination ofmaterials such as wood, glass, ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers,stone and metal. Accordingly, the weights may be of glass or plastic andmay have a core or an outer layer of a different material. Aparticularly aesthetically pleasing design is a ball of clear plastic orglass having a decorative or informative object enclosed in the plasticor glass and visible through the plastic or glass. The weights may alsobe in the form of a shell that may be hollow or may be enclosing aninner object and/or a liquid. When an object or a liquid is placed inthe shell the shell may be at least partly transparent in order toprovide a visual effect through the shell. An object may be made visiblethrough openings in the shell and may be selected to produce a soundeffect as the weight moves during a dispensing operation.

The weights may further have a decorative outer surface obtained byselecting a particular colour, surface texture or shine or by means of athree-dimensional pattern or a printed design such as an ornamentalpattern or a text.

The surface of the weights may include a sound reducing material inorder to avoid rattling of the weights against each other and againstthe walls of the container. By way of example, the sound reducingmaterial may be a coating of natural or synthetic rubber, a frosting, asurface on the weights made of wood, cork, fibres or similar.

In a corresponding manner, the dispenser side walls may include a soundreducing material or may be made of an inherently sound reducingmaterial such as textile or rubber.

The at least one weight may be a man-made object or may be chosen amongsuitable natural items which may be perceived as having a decorativeeffect such as fruit, vegetables, seeds, etc. By way of example it ispossible to use suitably sized apples, oranges, pears, lemons, limes,potatoes, chestnuts, eggs, peas, stones, etc. When using natural objectsas weights in the dispenser, it should be ascertained that the weightsare clean and that they are replaced if they go bad after some time.

1. A dispenser arrangement for interfolded napkins comprising acontainer comprising a bottom wall comprising a supporting surface forsupporting a rectangular stack of interfolded napkins, side wallssurrounding the bottom wall and extending from the bottom wall in adirection generally perpendicular thereto and defining a dispensingopening opposite the bottom wall, and at least one weight placed in thecontainer and being free from attachments to the container, the weighthaving a projected surface on the bottom wall which is less than orequal to one third of the stack supporting surface.
 2. The dispenserarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one weight has anat least partially curved surface.
 3. The dispenser arrangementaccording to claim 2, wherein the at least one weight has a sphericalshape.
 4. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one weight has an effective cross-section of at least 30millimeters.
 5. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 4, whereinthe at least one weight has an effective cross-section of from 30millimeters to 100 millimeters.
 6. The dispenser arrangement accordingto claim 5, wherein the at least one weight has an effectivecross-section of from 40 millimeters to 70 millimeters.
 7. The dispenserarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one weight has aweight of from 20 to 600 grams.
 8. The dispenser arrangement accordingto claim 1, wherein more than one weight is placed in the container. 9.The dispenser arrangement according to claim 8, wherein all weights inthe container have the same effective cross-section.
 10. The dispenserarrangement according to claim 8, wherein at least two weights in thecontainer have different effective cross-section.
 11. The dispenserarrangement according to claim 8, wherein all weights in the containerhave the same shape.
 12. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 8,wherein at least two weights in the container have different shapes. 13.The dispenser arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the totalprojected surface of the weights is at least 20% of the stack supportingsurface.
 14. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein theweights are arranged in at least two rows of weights, each rowcomprising at least one weight.
 15. The dispenser arrangement accordingto claim 1, wherein the weights are made from one or more materialsselected from wood, glass, ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers,stone and metal.
 16. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 1,wherein the surface of the weights comprises a sound-reducing material.17. The dispenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein thecontainer side walls comprise a sound reducing material.
 18. Thedispenser arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneweight is a natural item.
 19. The dispenser arrangement according toclaim 1, wherein the container contains a stack of interfolded napkinsthat is placed on the supporting surface on the bottom wall with abottom napkin resting with a trailing panel on the bottom surface and aleading panel of a top napkin exposed at the dispensing opening, andwherein the at least one weight is placed on the top napkin with theleading panel of the top napkin being lifted to a position above a lowerpanel of the napkin and forming a gripping part of the top napkin. 20.The dispenser arrangement according to claim 19, wherein the leadingpanel of the top napkin is positioned between at least two weights whichare placed in the container with at least one weight on a lower panel ofthe top napkin and at least one weight on the leading panel of the topnapkin with an edge portion of the leading panel protruding into thedispensing opening between the at least two weights.